Tokyo

⚠️ Entry rules and local regulations change without notice. Before booking, check entry requirements and local rules — visas, access, nature reserves, visitor quotas — with the official authorities.

Tokyo packs 14 million inhabitants into a surprising harmony of ultra-connected neighbourhoods and centuries-old temples. Shibuya, Shinjuku, Akihabara, Asakusa — each district reveals a unique facet. The city has the most Michelin-starred dining in the world, some of the most punctual transport, and Mount Fuji watching over the horizon.

A city of villages on the world's largest island

Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area on Earth — 37 million people — on the island of Honshu, the largest in Japan, and it is best understood not as one city but as a collection of towns joined by the world's most efficient railway. Each stop is a different place: Shinjuku's towers and the neon of Kabukicho; Shibuya and its crossing; Harajuku and Omotesando for fashion; Ginza for the department stores; Asakusa for the Senso-ji temple and the old east side; Ueno for the museums and the park; Akihabara for electronics and anime. The Imperial Palace sits in the middle, an empty green centre the city turns around.

What strikes visitors is the contrast held without strain: a Shinto shrine in the shadow of a tower, a tiny six-seat bar under the railway arches, silence on a packed train. Tokyo was Edo until 1868, a castle town that was already the biggest city in the world in the eighteenth century; it burned in 1923 and again in 1945, which is why it has almost no old buildings and why the old survives in habits, festivals and food rather than in stone.

The food is the other reason to come: more Michelin stars than any city, and, more to the point, a sushi counter, a ramen shop or a yakitori stall on every block that would be the best in most European capitals. Tsukiji's outer market, the depachika food halls under the department stores, and the izakaya alleys of Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho are the starting points.

Spring and autumn — not the rainy season, not August

Late March to early April brings the cherry blossom and the crowds that follow it; book a year ahead. Late October to early December is the other peak, with the maples and clear, dry weather. The rainy season, tsuyu, runs from early June to mid-July; July and August are hot (33–35 °C) and very humid, and September is typhoon season. Winter is cold, dry and bright, with the cheapest flights and the clearest views of Mount Fuji. Golden Week (late April–early May) and the New Year holiday see domestic travel surge and many businesses close.

The IC card, the rail pass question, and cash

EU citizens enter Japan visa-free for up to 90 days. Narita is an hour from the centre by train, Haneda thirty minutes; Haneda is the airport to choose when there is a choice. Buy a Suica or Pasmo IC card (or add one to your phone) on arrival — it works on every train, bus and convenience store in the country. Since the 2023 price rise, the Japan Rail Pass only pays if you are doing long distances; for a Tokyo-based trip, ordinary tickets are cheaper.

Japan is still more cash-based than Europe, though cards and IC payments now cover most of Tokyo; 7-Eleven ATMs take foreign cards. Tipping does not exist. Tattoos may bar you from onsen and some pools. Rubbish bins are rare — carry your waste. Eat everything; the cheap places are good and the good places are not always expensive. Book the Ghibli Museum and teamLab months ahead, and the sumo tournaments (January, May, September) when tickets go on sale.

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